September 16, 2016

Saint Paul was indignant and roused to anger it seems to me, when he learned that certain Corinthians were maintaining that, though Christ had not risen from the dead, there is no resurrection from the dead. He makes it a abundantly clear that our own hope of resurrection depends upon Christ’s. To deny the resurrection is to undermine the whole of faith; everything else depends of the reality of the fact that Christ rose to live forever in the flesh in the presence of the Father. So fundamental is this truth that Paul develops it in considerable detail; he leaves no alternative to belief that Jesus lives, body and soul even now. We are to share in the fruits of his resurrection after our mortal life ends. This hope and expectation give meaning to life.

So true is this truth that it is presupposed throughout the writings of the whole of the New Testament. It is implied in various passages of the Hebrew Bible as Jesus explained to his apostles when he appeared to them after his resurrection. Since it was not recognized with sufficient clarity even by the prophets, only after he rose from the tomb and had returned to the Father did he reveal the various passages where it was referred to in veiled language not altogether understood by the prophets themselves. The appearances of our Lord to chosen witnesses after he rose demonstrate that the Risen Body undergoes a radical transformation while retaining many recognizable features. Such radical change is a condition for entering into the presence of the Living God.

The Eucharist we offer this morning at the altar is a preliminary sharing in that transformed world where God is all in all. For in receiving the Body and Blood of our Savior we are made even now partakers in some manner in the life that is God Himself.

Article printed from
The Abbey of the Genesee:
http://www.geneseeabbey.org